EROS CASHBACK SYSTEM: You Can't Fake the Interest

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Next Major task

Garrett stepped out into Monday morning.

The city was already awake. Cars moved steadily along the road, buses stopped every few minutes to pick up students and workers, and people hurried along the pavements with coffee cups in their hands.

The bakery two doors down had its shutters halfway up, and the smell of fresh bread drifted into the street. Garrett normally passed by early enough to catch it while it was still warm. Not today. He was already behind schedule.

A delivery van was parked partly on the kerb outside the corner shop. The driver was carrying crates inside while Mr. Wells stood in the doorway, complaining about the delivery schedule again. Garrett had heard the same complaint more than once. He walked past without getting involved.

Mr. Wells noticed him.

"Late today, Garrett?"

Garrett glanced at him. "Unfortunately."

Mr. Wells laughed. "University students. Always rushing."

Garrett kept walking. He wasn’t sure if being late because he’d slept through the morning counted as the normal university experience, but there probably wasn’t much point arguing with the evidence.

A queue had already formed at the coffee cart near the crossing. Students were heading toward university, some with their hoods up, others with earphones in. A few were carrying books against their chests while they hurried along. A bus pulled away from the stop, already packed. Someone tried to catch it and failed. Garrett watched the person stop in the middle of the pavement and stare after the bus.

"That’s rough."

He kept walking.

Garrett knew this route well. He usually timed his walk so he wouldn’t get stuck at the crossing near the bakery. Today, he arrived just as the light changed. Of course. He stopped at the edge of the road and waited while the traffic moved across.

He checked the time. Still late.

The light changed. Garrett crossed with the rest of the students. He had almost reached the other side when his phone rang.

Daniel.

Garrett looked at the screen for a second before answering.

"Hello?"

"You’re alive."

Garrett continued walking. "Apparently."

"Good. I wasn’t sure."

"Why?"

"Because I’ve been calling you since yesterday."

Garrett frowned slightly. "I was busy."

There was a short silence.

"How busy?"

"Busy enough."

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the answer you’re getting."

Daniel sighed. "You didn’t answer a single call."

Garrett remembered the previous afternoon. He also remembered that his phone had been somewhere nearby while he had been occupied with Emiliana. He hadn’t even thought about checking it.

"What happened?" Garrett asked.

Daniel’s voice changed. The teasing disappeared.

"I heard something near my building."

Garrett’s steps slowed slightly. "What kind of something?"

"Two lads were talking outside yesterday."

"About what?"

"You."

Garrett stopped for half a second before continuing. "Me?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"I heard your name."

Garrett became more attentive. "What did they say?"

"I didn’t hear everything. They were talking quietly. I was coming back home when I caught part of the conversation."

Garrett looked ahead. "Did they know where I live?"

"That’s what bothered me."

"Why?"

"They mentioned your building."

Garrett’s expression tightened slightly. "What about it?"

"They were talking about the floor."

He was quiet. "Which floor?"

"The one you live on."

Garrett looked toward the road ahead. That was different. He’d expected Daniel to tell him about some random conversation. But if two strangers were talking about his building and the floor where he lived, there was a reason for it.

"Do you recognise either of them?"

"No."

"Did they mention why they were looking for me?"

"I didn’t hear that part."

Garrett was quiet again. People passed him on both sides as he continued toward university.

’Someone knows where I live. ’

He didn’t like that. Not because he knew what it meant. He didn’t. That was the problem. If Daniel had told him someone was asking about him, Garrett could have dismissed it as a misunderstanding. But two strangers knowing his building and his floor was specific enough to keep in mind.

"Anything else?" Garrett asked.

"Not much. I couldn’t get a good look at them."

"What did they look like?"

"Average. One was taller than the other. Both wearing dark clothes."

"That narrows it down to approximately half the city."

"I know."

"Did you see a car?"

"No."

"Anything they were carrying?"

"No."

Garrett nodded to himself. "Okay."

"That’s all you’re going to say?"

"What else should I say?"

"I don’t know. Maybe that you’ll be careful."

"I’ll be careful."

Daniel went quiet. "That sounded suspiciously easy."

"You’re the one who asked."

"I know you, Garrett."

"Unfortunately."

"Seriously."

Garrett smiled faintly. "I’ll keep it in mind."

"Good."

Daniel paused. Then his tone changed again.

"Wait."

Garrett kept walking. "What?"

"Why aren’t you at university?"

Garrett looked toward the campus buildings in the distance. He was still not close enough.

"I’m on my way."

"You’re always early."

"Not today."

"Why?"

Garrett considered several possible answers. None of them were particularly useful.

"I overslept."

There was silence.

"You overslept?"

"Yes."

"You?"

"That’s usually how oversleeping works."

"Garrett, I’ve known you for three years. You don’t oversleep."

"Apparently, I do now."

Daniel sighed. "Something is wrong with you."

"Probably."

"Are you sick?"

"No."

"Then why are you late?"

Garrett glanced at the time. "I had a difficult morning."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I had a difficult morning."

"You’re avoiding the question."

"Correct."

Daniel muttered something Garrett couldn’t make out. "Just get here. We need to talk properly."

"We would see in school, Daniel"

Daniel sighed. "I’ve been calling you since yesterday."

"I know."

"No, you don’t."

Garrett raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"If you knew, you’d have seen the calls."

Garrett looked down at his phone. Daniel had a point.

"Dont be angry"

"Fine. Just hurry up."

Garrett ended the call.

He slipped the phone back into his pocket and continued walking. Daniel was strange sometimes. But this time, Garrett understood why he’d been calling. Someone had been asking about where he lived. That was worth remembering. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do about it yet, so there was no reason to invent an answer. He’d deal with it if it became an actual problem. For now, university came first. He had already missed enough of the morning.

He walked another few minutes before finally reaching the main road leading toward campus. Only then did he remember something.

His phone. He hadn’t properly checked it since yesterday afternoon.

Garrett pulled it out. The screen immediately showed a collection of notifications. He looked through them. Then stopped.

Twelve missed calls. All from Daniel. Three from yesterday afternoon. Five later in the evening. Four more after that.

Garrett stared at the number. "That’s a lot."

He hadn’t realised Daniel had tried that many times. There were also several unread messages, but Garrett didn’t open them yet.

He scrolled down. Then he stopped.

A system notification sat near the top of the screen. Garrett’s attention shifted immediately.

[MISSION COMPLETED]

[OBJECTIVE: MAKE EMILIANA ACCEPT AND ASK YOU OUT ON A DATE AT YOUR PLACE.]

[STATUS: COMPLETED.]

[REWARD: £100,000.]

Garrett stared at the screen. He read it again.

£100,000!!

He blinked. The number remained exactly where it was.

"...That’s a lot of money."

Garrett wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with that much money.

He could fix the flat properly. That was the obvious answer. New furniture. Better appliances. Replace anything that was worn out.

He could save most of it. That sounded safer.

He could also give some to his parents. The thought stayed in his head for a moment longer than the others.

Then there was investing. Garrett knew enough to understand that putting money somewhere and hoping it grew wasn’t exactly a plan.

So that idea went into the mental box labelled figure it out later.

He looked at the notification again.

£100,000.

He glanced at the next notification beneath it

[NEXT MAJOR TASK AVAILABLE]

He stared at it. A second line appeared beneath it.

[TAP ACCEPT TO UNLOCK]

Garrett stopped walking.

His thumb hovered over the screen.

The previous task had given him £100,000. He had no idea what the system considered a "major task" anymore.

Garrett looked at the notification. Then at the campus buildings ahead.

"...What now?"

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